PHNOM PENH - Cambodian authorities say they have not yet arrested a Russian business tycoon, despite an extradition request from Russia.

Sergei Polonsky, 41, a millionaire who lives on a tropical island off the coast of Preah Sihanouk, is wanted by Russian authorities for allegedly embezzling up to $175 million from some 80 investors on an investment project in Russia.

He was recently put on Interpol’s “red list” of wanted criminals.

Keat Chantharith, a spokesman for Cambodia’s national police, told VOA Khmer on Thursday that police are waiting for an order from the Ministry of Justice “before we can arrest him.”

Officials from the Ministry of Justice could not be reached for comment.

Polonsky was held for three months in Cambodia earlier this year, after an alleged altercation with a group of Cambodian boatmen off the coast.